


One Black Coffee

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24216430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: Variety is the spice of life. Or so they say. Clint isn't so sure. Until he is.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 23
Kudos: 58
Collections: be_compromised Remix Exchange 2020





	One Black Coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Huntress79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Mean Barista I Fell In Love With](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21233441) by [Huntress79](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/pseuds/Huntress79). 



> Thanks for paperairplanes for the poking and most excellent title suggestion. And to crazy4orcas for the cheerleading and beta, as always.

"Again?" Clint exclaimed as he took a good look at the side of his cardboard coffee cup. "She did it to me _again_!"

"What's it say this time?" Coulson asked, hiding a smile behind his own cup as he took a sip of what Clint was sure was a perfectly brewed cup of tea, exactly as Coulson had ordered it. And to add insult to injury, Coulson's name was spelled correctly on the side; the barista had even drawn a little smiley face doodle underneath it.

"Probably something witty and wise," Bobbi laughed, deftly lifting the cup from Clint's hand and turning it so she could read the message on the side. **_Variety is the spice of life. Or so they say._** She lifted the cup to her lips and took a small experimental sip. "Nope, that's definitely not your regular black coffee. Tastes like… Caramel macchiato?"

" _What _? She can't do that!"__

__"At least she only charged you for the black," Coulson commented dryly._ _

__"That's not… No! That's not the point. I ordered black coffee. Just like I always do. And she just switched it out like it was her right. How come she never does that to either of you guys?"_ _

__"Maybe she likes us better," Coulson said._ _

__Bobbi grinned as she handed her own basic black coffee over to Clint and then took another sip of the macchiato. "Or maybe she likes you more."_ _

__\-----_ _

__Clint groggily pushed open the door to the coffee shop the next morning, more than a little grumpy after a late-night show at the club the evening before. He wanted nothing more than to grab an absurdly large black coffee, slog through his day job at SHIELD Security, then go home and take the world's longest nap. Or maybe he'd just drop into bed and stay there until next week._ _

__The last thing he wanted to do was face the day without caffeine. But he also didn't want to deal with the stunning -- yet infuriating -- red-headed barista who consistently screwed up his orders. On purpose._ _

__Besides, Steve, the owner of the cafe, was a good friend of his and the coffee he served was the best in this part of town. Nevermind that this place was right around the corner from work. It was too much effort to haul himself blocks out of the way for subpar coffee at a megachain._ _

__Or at least that's what he told himself. Because otherwise he'd have to admit that maybe he didn't mind getting the wrong coffee orders from the red-headed barista. The amazingly beautiful, green-eyed barista who intrigued the hell out of him, despite his best instincts._ _

__The problem was, he couldn't figure out why she seemed to have singled him out. She didn't have any issues with Coulson or Bobbi or any one else he knew who frequented the cafe. Just him._ _

__Why?_ _

__"Hey, Clint. What can I get for you this morning?" Steve called from behind the bakery counter and breaking him out of his thoughts._ _

__He looked around, but didn't see the barista. Huh. Maybe he'd actually get his plain black coffee this morning after all._ _

__"Coulson asked if I could grab a couple dozen donuts for our staff meeting," Clint said. "And I need an extra, extra, _extra_ large, black coffee."_ _

__"Sure. Hey, Bucky," Steve called over his shoulder as he started boxing up an assortment of donuts. "Can you give me a hand out here with Clint's coffee order?"_ _

__"No! I'm busy making the danishes and I'm up to my elbows in flour. Natasha'll help you out!" he called back._ _

__Which is exactly when the infuriating redhead stepped out from the kitchen. She startled as soon as she saw Clint, but quickly hid her reaction and continued tying her red apron around her waist before politely asking for his coffee order. Like the cursed woman didn't already know what it was going to be._ _

__"Large. Black. No flavors," he said through gritted teeth._ _

__She smirked at him. "Are you sure?"_ _

__"As sure as I am every morning."_ _

__She made a little hummng noise and then turned away to the coffee machine._ _

__"You know, you're the only one I've ever seen her act like that with," Steve mused as he rang him up._ _

__"I'd say I'm surprised," Clint said. "But I've seen the way she treats your other patrons. I really am the only one she treats this way."_ _

__"You want me to talk with her?"_ _

__Did he? Clint wasn't sure. He didn't have a chance to anwer, though, because that's when he noticed the time. Already? Dammit. He was running later than he thought._ _

__"Jesus! I have to go!"_ _

__He quickly thrust a couple of tens at Steve, grabbed the donut boxes and his coffee, and left, practically jogging the couple of blocks it took to get to SHIELD._ _

__It wasn't until he slipped into the staff meeting, with mere seconds to spare, that he noticed what was written on the side of his cup._ _

___**Its better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring** _ _ _

__Oh god. What fresh hell was he going to encounter now? Clint took a hesistant sip and grimaced when he tasted the cloying flavor of Peppermint Mocha. Dammit. That barely even qualified as coffee! How could she?_ _

__With a heavy sigh, Clint slid the cup over to Bobbi, who gave him a questioning look before shrugging and accepting his offering._ _

__Clint slumped back in his chair, his eyes on Director Fury as he mentally resigned himself to the sludge they called coffee in the communal kitchen after the meeting._ _

__\-----_ _

__Over the next few days, whenever he got Natasha as his barista, he wound up with a variety of coffees, none of them black. And each and every one came with a cheery little message indicating, however obliquely, that he needed some variety in his life._ _

__And in a weird way, he actually started looking forward to them. The only drawback was all the sludge from the office coffee machine he wound up drinking because, no matter what Natasha thought, he found the flavored crap she gave him completely undrinkable._ _

__Which is why, when he walked in the shop the following Thursday, he was dumbfounded to find a complete stranger behind the counter._ _

__“A wonderful morning, my friend!” the big blond guy boomed as Clint approached the counter. “What can I get you to make it even better?”_ _

__"Uh… Coffee. Black. No flavors," he answered automatically._ _

__"Of course!"_ _

__Steve came out from the kitchen just as the new barista turned to get Clint's coffee. "Hey, Clint! You met Thor?"_ _

__"Yeah," Clint said. "He's… very awake for so early in the morning."_ _

__Steve laughed and shot him a pointed look. "Most people don't work all day and then play guitar in dive bars all night."_ _

__"Hey! They're high class dive bars," Clint protested. He gave a quick look around the shop. "So, um, where's Natasha this morning?"_ _

__"Asked for some personal time off."_ _

__"Everything ok?" Clint asked, knowing full well that he was overstepping a huge boundary just by asking. Besides, Steve wasn't the type to gossip about employees. He wouldn't dare share with a customer if anything was wrong._ _

__Still, Steve suddenly looked awfully serious and Clint couldn't help wondering if she really was ok. He'd spent a solid three weeks enduring Natasha's increasingly bizarre choices for his coffee. It was actually kind of throwing him for a loop to have her absent from behind the counter this morning._ _

__"Yeah," Steve assured him. "She just needed some time to herself today. So… Can I interest you in a salted caramel brownie? Buck's trying out some new recipes."_ _

__Which is how, for the first time in nearly a month, Clint found himself with a plain, black coffee, a gooey brownie, and no clever quip about life on the side of his cup. And missing Natasha more than he thought possible._ _

__\-----_ _

__The next week, Natasha was back behind the counter, but she was unusually solemn and her perky little messages were slightly less perky. She even gave him his correct order two days in a row._ _

__He was almost relieved when after a few days, she resumed sending him off with even more god awful flavors. Which he promptly deposited on Bobbi's desk each morning._ _

__"Oh, hey, Clint?" Bobbi called after him one day. "You may want this one after all."_ _

__"Why? So she can tell me how boring I am again?"_ _

__"No, but you may want the phone number she left instead," Bobbi answered with a smirk as she held up the cup._ _

__He stopped walking immediately and backtracked a few steps. "The… what?"_ _

__"Phone number. Presumably hers. So…" She took a sip of the coffee then laughed again at the look on his face. "Do you want your Red Velvet latte or not?"_ _

__"Want," he confirmed, swiping it out of her hand and causing some of the coffee to slosh out of the little hole in the top. "Definitely want."_ _

__\-----_ _

__It took Clint two days of staring at his phone, wondering if he should call or text her, before he finally decided to do neither. Instead, on Thursday, as she was handing him his coffee cup, he invited her to one of his gigs._ _

__"So, uh, do you have any plans for Friday night?" he asked, more than a little worried about what her answer might be._ _

__Natasha smirked at him. "Steve doesn't approve of employees fraternizing with the customers."_ _

__"Steve's a hypocrite," Clint countered, with a small smile. "Because he's been to at least three of my shows in the past few months."_ _

__"Shows?"_ _

__"Yeah. I play guitar at one of the local bars on Fridays. The Rooster?"_ _

__She nodded. "I'm familiar with it."_ _

__"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come to the show."_ _

__She smiled at him and snatched back the cup she'd just handed him to add a new note._ _

__"I'd love to,"she said, handing it back to him. "I'll see you then."_ _

__It wasn't until he was out on the sidewalk that Clint noticed what she'd written._ _

___**About time you asked!** _ _ _

__\-----_ _

__Clint was so busy at work the next two days that he thankfully didn't have time to think about his invitation much. Which was a good thing, because otherwise, he'd have been a nervous mess. So he was especially pleased when he spotted Natasha sitting at the back with Steve and Bucky the next night and even more pleased when she hung around afterwards and waited until he exited the stage._ _

__"Your voice is amazing," she said. "And the way you play your guitar, like a lover…"_ _

__She broke off, her pale cheeks flushing._ _

__God, she was beautiful. Clint bundled his guitar up in its case as a distraction to keep from staring. "I learned when I was a kid and while I was never good enough to go pro, I just couldn't manage to give it up completely."_ _

__"I know what you mean. That's how I feel about dancing."_ _

__Clint's head jerked up. "You're a dancer?"_ _

__"Was," Natasha said, with a little grin. "Ballet. We get calluses on our feet instead of our hands."_ _

__Something he'd always been embarrassed about. But the way she said it made it sound like something to be proud of, not something to be ashamed of. "You noticed my calluses?"_ _

__"I notice everything."_ _

__"Then I suppose you've noticed how Carol, the bartender, is ready to close up."_ _

__She glanced over at the bar and then back at him. "I may have."_ _

__"So how would you feel about getting out of here and heading over to the all night diner down the street? I'll buy _you_ a cup of coffee."_ _

__"I'd love it."_ _

__\-----_ _

__"So why did you keep giving me everything but my plain black coffee everyday? Did you really think I was boring?" Clint asked about a week later as they were cuddled up on Natasha's couch watching a movie._ _

__"God no!" Natasha said, her cute little nose wrinkling up adorably. "But your coffee order was incredibly boring. I wanted to shake you up a little."_ _

__"Yeah?"_ _

__"Yeah," she said with a smile._ _

__He kissed the top of her head. "Well, you did. In more ways than one."_ _


End file.
